Grading Brett Arce's Safeties Heading Into The Bye Week

Arizona is officially heading into its bye week at 4-3 overall and 1-3 in Big 12 conference play coming off back-to-back losses against BYU in double overtime at home and on a field goal as time expired on the road against Houston.

The Wildcats are taking their bye week to get back to the fundamentals as head coach Brent Brennan noted following last week's game as well as his during his weekly press conference on Monday.

Arce was promoted to the role of the safeties coach for Arizona in January of last year. He spent spent the previous three years on the Wildcats staff working with the program’s safeties and nickel backs.

As part of his contributions with the Wildcats coaching staff previously, Arce helped Arizona make one of the greatest leaps in defensive rankings in the nation from 2022 to 2023. The Wildcats ranked 124th in the country in total defense in 2022 at 467.7 yards per game all the way up to 48th in the country in 2023 at 357.9 yards per game.

Dalto — Oct 11, 2025; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats defensive back Jay’Vion Cole (8) and defensive lineman Dominic Lolesio (42) celebrate a block field goal attempted by the Brigham Young Cougars during the second quarter of the game at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

Arce is now working solely with the safety room for Arizona.

Grade: B

As a pass defense, Arizona currently ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 and No. 9 in the country in pass defense at 153.1 passing yards per game. They also rank No. 8 in the conference in scoring defense at 20.3 points per game.

The safety room is led by veterans Dalton Johnson and Genesis Smith.

Johnson has recorded a team-high 52 tackles. He has also added one sack, two pass deflections, one fumble recovery and one interception to this point in the season.

Smith has totaled 42 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble and a team-high seven pass deflections. He logged a season-high 10 tackles in the loss against BYU.

Both Johnson and Smith have taken a step forward in their games under the coaching of Arce.

Smith projects as one of the top 2026 NFL Draft prospects for Arizona. He came in at No. 8 at the safety position for ESPN's Mel Kiper in his 2026 NFL Draft positional rankings. He should continue to hear his name in more talks as the season continues to progress.

Behind Johnson and Smith, the Wildcats have Coleman Patmon and Jack Luttrell in their safety room under Arce.

Luttrell showed flashes late last season as he began to see the field more due to injuries in the Wildcats secondary. He hasn't quite seen the same opportunity as he did last year, so he hasn't been able to show his progression on the field as much.

There can be some concern with the depth in Arizona's safety room behind Johnson and Smith, but they'll continue to be two of the leaders on the entire defense for the Wildcats heading into the final stretch of the season.

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